Stuff you should know about Horton Parks

Yorkshire is a big place. Large industrial cities punctuated by a patchwork of endless countryside that stretches into Northumberland and Cumbria. From this comes Horton Parks, guitar in hand. The son of a preacher from rural North Yorkshire. His childhood was spent drifting from place to place in the wake of his father's calling.

Horton is a 27 year old singer / songwriter who left the rural life for the city in search of a job and music. As a teenager, Horton performed in cover bands in the rough and tumble world of the northern pub scene, and later served a 4 year apprenticeship as a guitarist / tunesmith in a couple of bands on the indie circuit. But his real calling has always been towards his own material.

Following a band split, he finally found space to write and perform. After a few live appearances, Horton has already caused a stir in the local music scene of Leeds, Sheffield, York and Hull, supporting bands like Ladybug Transistor and the American Analogue set.

Horton's acoustic lo-fi folky blues have been compared to various artists - from Fred Neil, Tim Hardin, Johnny Cash, early Tom Waits, Captain Beefheart, The Band and Leonard Cohen.

Now his exciting album 'sleepers' is due for release on this very label - cos you know we love a quality act like Horts (as we call him at Squirrel HQ).

The 15 tracks show the range of talent beginning to emerge here. They are even more impressive when you consider that half of the album tracks are the original 4-track demo recordings, kept as simple and straightforward as they were written.

Live shows are continuing as the band grows with the addition of drums and bass.

A national tour is on the cards in the near future and European dates are currently in negotiation.